Pork Chop with Rice Cakes
A fried or braised pork chop served with thin, chewy rice cakes in a savoury-sweet sauce.
How to eat it
The pork chop usually contains a bone, so cut or bite around it carefully. If Worcestershire-style chilli sauce is provided, add only a few drops rather than soaking the rice cakes.
The story behind the dish
The pork chop and thin rice cakes are cooked to contrast firm meat with a soft, chewy base. The pairing rose in Shanghai during the 1930s, when snack shops combined the two into an affordable serving. Different shops still use distinct methods, coating and frying the chop or braising it in dark sauce.
For reference
Every kitchen does it its own way. What follows is the typical version — ingredients, heat and price shift from city to city and from one restaurant to the next, so take it as a guide rather than a fixed recipe.
If you have an allergy or something you can't eat, check with the staff before you order.